Combined wall and awning structure



Sept. 12, 1967 w ASH 3,341,180

COMBINED WALL AWNJ ING STRUCTURE Fild July 21, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

JOHN C. DASHIO J- C- DASHIO Sept. 12. 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed .July 21, 1965 United States Patent 3,341,180 COMBINED WALL AND AWNING STRUCTURE John C. Dashio, Gibsonia, Pa., assignor of thirty-three and one-third percent to William B. Jaspert, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Filed July 21, 1965, Ser. No. 473,788

4 Claims. (Cl. 2561) This invention relates to new and useful improvements in combined barrier and roof structures.

In Patent No. 3,291,453, granted Dec. 13, 1966, I have disclosed a combined fence and shade closure for swimming pools, patios and the like in which the fence or wall is sectional and is constituted of panels that are independently movable on vertical and inclined tracks to form awning-like shade structures and at the same time provide for the flow of air to the fenced-in area such as a swimming pool. In accordance with the present invention, the panels are constituted of sectional members that are hinged to be readily adapted to either a vertical or inclined position, depending upon the desired function of fencing in or shading the particular area with which it is associated.

It is among the objects of this invention to provide a combined fence and awning structure in which the upright members are provided with rafter-like extensions and have guideways formed in the sides that act as guides for rollers by which the panel members are supported in their sliding movement to the up or down position.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a sectional panel in which the sections are hinged so that the panel may be partly in the upright position and partly in the rafter or roof position.

It is still a further object of the invention to provide a combined wall and awning structure in which the panel members may be partially raised to provide ventilation at the bottom thereof and partially disposed on the rafter section to provide shading.

The invention will become more apparent from a consideration of the accompanying drawings constituting a part hereof in which like reference characters designate like parts and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a view in perspective of a combination panel fence and shade structure embodying the principles of this invention;

FIGURES 2 and 3 are side elevational views of the combination closure and awning structure illustrating various positions of the panel.

FIGURE 4 is a side elevational view of a fragmentary portion of the panel at the hinges showing a two-way hinge;

FIGURE 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of FIGURE 6; and,

FIGURE 6 is an isometric view of the panel assembly illustrating the down and up position of the sectional panel member.

With reference to FIGURES 1 to 3 of the drawing, the numeral 1 designates the struts or upright supports of sectional panel members which, in their down position, constitute a closure for a recreational area such as a swimming pool shown at 2, FIGURE 1. Members which are I-shaped, as shown in FIGURE 5, have rafter-like portions 3, preferably integrally formed therewith, to constitute a roof portion when the panels, generally designated by the numeral 4, are in their raised position, as shown in FIGURE 1. The lined area designated by the numerals 5 and 6 of FIGURE 1 indicate shaded areas when the panels are in their raised position. As is shown in FIGURES 2, 3 and 6, the panels are constituted of sections 7, 8 and 9 that are connected by hinges 10 which are double hinges, as shown in FIGURES 3 and 4. Each panel section is provided with one or more guide rollers 11, which as shown in FIGURE 5, are disposed in the I-shaped supports, the webs 12 of which constitute a guide for the rollers 11 when the panels are moved to their raised or lowered position.

As is more apparent from FIGURE 5 of the drawings, the sectional panels have rectangular frame portions 13 in which the panel bodies 14, which may be constituted of Fiberglas, are mounted. They are sealed in as shown at 15. Attached to the frame 13 is an L-shaped element 16 having a stud shaft 17 on which the rollers 11 are mounted and they pass freely around the curved portion 18 of the supports when they roll on their webs 12 of the uprights 1. As shown in FIGURE 6, the ends of the uprights may be supported in concrete, as shown at 19, or in any other suitable manner. Although the supports are shown as inclined, they may of course be vertical, while the rafter portions 3 may be inclined, as shown.

The above-described sectional panel members and supports constitute a simplified construction and the panels may be locked in position by a bolt such as is shown at 20 in FIGURE 6. Also, the bolt may fit into holes in the web portion of the I section in its raised position to prevent the inadvertent displacement, as is shown in the upper lefthand portion of FIGURE 6.

The panel sections 7, 8 and 9 can be made of any suitable material and in any combination of colors to enhance the ornamental effect of the structure and of course any number of the panels can be raised or lowered at will to get the proper venting and shading desired.

Also, as shown in FIGURE 1, the total height of the combined panel members is greater than the length of the rafter portion 3, so that the panels overlap at both ends.

Although one embodiment of the invention has been herein illustrated and described, it will be evident to those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made in the details of construction without departing from the principles herein set forth.

I claim:

1. A combined barrier and roof structure for enclosing swimming pools, patios and like areas comprising a plurality of horizontally spaced uprights unsupported by and unattached to any super-structure and spaced around a substantial portion of a given area, each of said uprights having guideways for supporting articulated panel members each of which extends between adjacent pairs of said uprights for movement between a substantially vertical position substantially enclosing such area and a substantially horizontal position permitting unimpaired movement into such area and providing shade areas therebeneath, said guideways being inclined from the vertical in one direction from the bottom of the uprights for a substantial distance of their length, continuing at the top in the same direction with a gentle upward slope from the horizontal to constitute rafter portions, each of said panel members consisting of hingedly joined sections having roller supports extending from the sides thereof slidably received in the guideways of said uprights, said panel members thereby providing barriers in their down position and a sloping roof in their up position.

2. The structure of claim 1 wherein said rafter portions of the guideways are of a length less than the combined height of the panel members whereby the end sections of the panel members overhang both ends of the rafter portions of the guideway when the panel members are in their up position.

3. The structure of claim 1 further including means carried by said panel members for locking the same in their up position.

4. A combined barrier and roof structure for enclosing swimming pools, patios and like areas comprising a plurality of horizontally spaced uprights unsupported by and unattached to any super-structure and spaced around a substantial portion of a given area, each of said uprights having guideways for supporting articulated panel members each of which extends between adjacent pairs of said uprights for movement between a substantially vertical position substantially enclosing such area and a substantially horizontal position permitting unimpaired movement into such area and providing shade areas therebeneath, said guideways extending generally vertically upwardly from the bottom of the uprights and terminating in rafter portions extending in a generally horizontal direction, each of said panel members consisting of hingedly joined sections having roller supports extending from the sides thereof slidably received in the guideways of said uprights, said panel members thereby providing barriers in their down position and a sloping roof in their up position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,311,470 2/1943 Ritter 160-201 X 2,721,610 10/1955 Grandgent 160-190 2,786,523 3/1957 Phillips 160-229 X 2,786,712 3/1957 Whiting 160-201 X 2,861,630 11/1958 Baker 160-191 X 2,952,314 9/1960 Clark l229 2,998,061 8/1961 Timmons -201 X 3,002,195 10/1961 Prudek 4-172 3,044,540 7/ 1962 Hammersley 160-201 3,102,583 9/1963 Rowe et al. 160-209 3,116,782 1/1964 Rudnick 160-206 3,180,446 4/ 1965 Wenger.

3,191,548 6/1965 Adler et al 160-113 X DAVID J. WILLIAMOWSKY, Primary Examiner.

REINALDO P. MACHADO, HARRISON R. MOSE- LEY, Examiners.

D. L. TAYLOR, Assistant Examiner. 

4. A COMBINED BARRIER AND ROOF STRUCTURE FOR ENCLOSING SWIMMING POOLS, PATIOS AND LIKE AREAS COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF HORIZONTALLY SPACED UPRIGHT UNSUPPORTED BY AND UNATTACHED TO ANY SUPER-STRUCTURE AND SPACED AROUND A SUBSTANTIAL PORTION OF A GIVEN AREA, EACH OF SAID UPRIGHTS HAVING GUIDEWAYS FOR SUPPORTING ARTICULATED PANEL MEMBERS EACH OF WHICH EXTENDS BETWEEN ADJACENT PAIRS OF SAID UPRIGHTS FOR MOVEMENT BETWEEN A SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICAL POSITION SUBSTANTIALLY ENCLOSING SUCH AREA AND A SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL POSITION PERMITTING UNIMPAIRED MOVEMENT INTO SUCH AREA AND PROVIDING SHADE AREAS THEREBENEATH, SAID GUIDEWAYS EXTENDING GENERALLY VERTICALLY UP- 